Portrait Wanwan Liang

Accomplishments From a Recent Graduate, Dr. Wanwan Liang

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  Dr. Wanwan Liang (class of 2019 and former EPP graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Jerome Grant) recently published her fourth manuscript from her doctoral research conducted at the University of Tennessee. Her manuscripts were published in four prestigious journals: Biological Invasions, Ecological Modeling, Environmental Entomology, and Remote Sensing. She is currently a Post-Doctoral Associate in the Center of Geospatial Analytics at North Carolina State University and can be contacted at wliang5@ncsu.edu. Dr. Liang was an amazing student during her time here at UT. She excelled academically and socially; she fit right at home here in our department. She even stopped by to help with last year’s Buggy Buffet! We are very proud of her. If you get

Amani Khalil smiling candidly after her research poster was awarded "Best Judged Poster"

Amani Khalil Awarded “Judged Best Poster” from SSAWG Conference 2020!

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Amani Khalil– Mani to her friends– recently won the poster competition at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) this past week in Little Rock, Arkansas. She competed against 36 other posters from other students, extension agents, and organizations. Mani is a Graduate Research Assistant and working on her MS. She is tackling the interaction between native perennials and pollinators and follows the mentorship of Dr. Laura Russo. We are very proud of your accomplishment, Mani. Please keep up the great work!!

Marlo Black, equipped with proper lab equipment, pipettes material for a research experiment.

Marlo Black Awarded Undergraduate National Conference on Urban Entomology (NCUE) Scholarship!

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Congratulations are in order for young Marlo Black who recently became the BS scholarship winner for the 2020 NCUE conference! In addition to her $1500 scholarship, Marlo is receiving complimentary registration for this year’s meeting in Mobile, AL where she will get to deliver her research paper during the main session at the conference. Marlo is co-advised by Dr. Rebecca Trout Fryxell, Dr. Karen Vail, and Jennifer Chandler. Along with her advisors, the rest of us in EPP are beyond proud and excited about Marlo’s accomplishment. Thank you for all that you do and congratulations!!

Dr. Russo sitting in field

New Paper on Relative Attractiveness of Ornamental Cultivars to Pollinators

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Ornamental plants are generally considered to be less attractive to pollinating insects, but some varieties and cultivars are more attractive than others. Here we compare the relative attractiveness of different popular ornamental plants to flower-visiting insects and provide recommendations for more pollinator-friendly varieties. View the open-access article Please feel free to email Dr. Laura Russo with any questions concerning this project: lrusso@utk.edu

On the left, Swati showcasing a plant seed in a laboratory; top right, Matthew identifying insects in a laboratory; bottom right, Rebecca collecting rodents out in the field

EPP Students Excelled at the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting; Nov. 17-20, 2019

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ESA Meeting 2019 Faculty, post-docs, staff, and students from the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology participated in the Annual Entomological Society of America National meeting held in St. Louis, MO. Seven graduate students presented oral papers either in the Student Competition or in the invited Symposium. Swati Mishra, a PhD student working with Dr. Juan Jurat-Fuentes, co-organized two symposia, and three students were invited to speak in a symposium. Congratulations to two EPP students for winning first place in their individual student competitions. Rebecca Butler, a PhD student working with Dr. Becky Trout Fryxell, won 1st place for her study of ecological relationships of ectoparasites on rodents in western Tennessee. Matthew Longmire, an MS student working with Dr. Jerome

Russ enjoying a dinner with his wife and friends during his retirement

Passing of Former EPP Faculty Charles Russel Patrick III

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It is with deep sorrow we announce that we lost one of our own Nov. 20th, 2019. Before Russ (pictured left) worked for us, he was a part of the TN Department of Agriculture and primarily worked on cyst nematodes. He then happily moved onto our department and worked with all crops but had expertise on corn, soybean, and stored grain. When he wasn’t working, he was either messing with Ham radios or volunteering for the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. He eventually retired from our UT Extension Service and became a member of our Emeritus Faculty. He is survived by his wife, who he had been married to for 50 years (Pat Patrick), his daughter (Lynn Box), granddaughter (Addison Box),

Closeup of the Asian longhorned tick's different life development stages (adult, nymph, and larva)

Grant to Support Dr. Trout Fryxell’s Research on the Asian Longhorned Tick

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Congratulations! Dr. Rebecca Trout Fryxell has just been awarded a grant for her research regarding the Asian Longhorned Tick by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). The aim is to halt the spread of this invasive tick species, a problem with both canines and cattle. With this funding, greater resources can be pulled in to help identify solutions. FFAR’s contribution of $150,000 was matched by the University of Tennessee, making a $300,000 effort against this invasive. Please check the following news releases on the matter: FFAR’s News Release UTIA’s News Release EurekAlert!’s News Release (includes video)    

A grandpa panicking as a rose-haired tarantula climbs atop his head, while his granddaughter stares at him with curiosity

Ag Day 2019

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The Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology Crawling to the Top at Ag Day Every year, the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture hosts an event that encompasses agriculture, tailgating, and Big Orange spirit. While Ag Day includes many departments, none of them quite leave the same impression as ours does. The photo above has Rosie, Dr. Grant’s rose-haired tarantula, trying to get a peek at the festivities. Check out the other photos to see our team represent UT spirit: